The invention relates to a door handle assembly for a motor vehicle. The invention particularly relates to an outer door handle assembly for actuating an electric door lock.
Electrically-controlled door locks are known from the prior art. These are frequently listed under the general term “e-latch”. Such a door lock is disclosed in the EP 0 584 499 A1. In such door handles, there is no arrangement for a continuous mechanical functional chain from the door handle to a corresponding door lock. The door lock is rather controlled electrically, so that mechanical hardware can be reduced, which saves cost and weight.
An electrically controlled lock has to be differentiated from the well-known concepts of a remote controlled door unlocking. It might still be possible to mechanically open an unlocked door by actuating the door handle, in order to lift the lock release of the mechanical components of the door lock (in particular rotary latch and pawl). In an electric door lock, this releasing of the lock is carried out after an electrical actuation, the rotary latch of a door lock is thus operated via an electrical activation and by means of a corresponding servo unit or motor unit without the need to exert any force on the door handle.
In such electric door locks, the mechanical deflection or adjustment of the door handles is no longer necessary, they can therefore be mounted to the motor vehicle with no or only a minimal range of motion (e.g. to activate a microswitch).
This application relates to a door handle that is fixed on the vehicle, referred to as fixed door handle in the following. This should convey the meaning that the door handle with its handle that can be operated by the user cannot be deflected or pivoted in relation to the corresponding door, but that it merely serves as a handle to move the door which was electrically opened.
It has to be ensured at all times that the production and maintenance of these door handles will require as little effort as possible on the one hand, and that the security of such a door handle system is guaranteed at all times. In particular, if the opening of the door is carried out via an electric door lock after an actuation, it has to be ensured that the opening request of a user is indeed determined without any uncertainty. Any pressure onto the door handle, e.g. in a car wash, when polishing the motor vehicle, by means of the airstream or when someone is leaning against it, should never cause an undesired opening of the door.
It is the objective of the invention to produce a fixed door handle with a reliable function detection and increased security.